I left the IT industry after 10 years (and a layoff) and started teaching. I teach high school and community college classes, and have gone back to school to work on my PhD in educational psychology.
A good friend once told me he evaluated choices in his life by asking, "When I die, would I want this choice on my headstone?" I think having "teacher" on my headstone would be much more satisfying than "cubicle occupant" or "corporate grunt."
Actually, the new section of 190 is to be built well west of there, west of I35E, in fact, right where Valley View and 635 intersect in Irving. The transponder I was talking about is located in a residential/light business area...
Growing up in the NE, we often traversed the Penn. State Turnpike. Back then, they gave you a punch card (Hollerith card for you purists) at the entrance booth, and you handed to the attendant when you exited. If your calculated speed was above a certain limit, you were referred to a Penn. state trooper waiting at the booth for a "consultation."
My father was a cop, so it was never a big deal, professional courtesy and all that...
Here in north Texas, the NTTA is the toll authority. If you drive around town, you can find Amtech transponders mounted high up on telephone poles -- miles away from the tollroads! Not only does NTTA track you on the tollway, they are apparently keeping tabs on you when you're not on the tollway.
For the non-believers in Dallas: Look in the median on Valley View, just west of Marsh in Farmers Branch.
It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.
Seems like there's a lot of misconceptions about what the word "amateur" means. Amateur radio is named for its non-commercial nature (amateur as opposed to professional), and has nothing to do with level of competence. There are a great number of amateur radio operators who are experts in their fields of endeavor, and can hardly be considered "amateur" in terms of competence. Here's a list of some of the more famous amateurs. I see a Nobel Prize winner in physics on there, which I'd hardly consider "amateur."
Unfortunately, the best coders don't always make the best managers. I've seen extremely good coders fail to manage efficiently, usually for two reasons: (1) They spend too much time coding, and not enough time managing, or (2) they simply aren't good managers.
The original poster is in a bind, as he's being forced into a position to wear two hats without adequate resources to manage both. My suggestion would be to put the ball back in mgmt's court: Make it clear that you will either play the role of developer, or the role of team lead, but not both (unless adequate resources in time and pay are allocated).
Continuing down this track is simply giving mgmt what it wants: Two job descriptions filled for the price of one. Your performance suffers, while the bean counter who made this ludicrous decision wins, at your expense. You are being used, plain and simple.
"Slamming" is generally recognized as the process of subscribing a user to a new product or service without their express permission. Sounds to me like Comodo is simply taking advantage of publicly-available information to market their own product. Since when is this a crime? Here are some other examples of companies using public information to market their own products:
A company uses publicly-available vehicle registration information to pitch extended warranties.
A tax company uses public appraisal tax rolls to offer their assistance in filing appraisal appeals.
A company sends a homeowner a form and fee request to file a homestead exemption, again using information from public tax rolls.
An insurance company sends a "reminder" about homeowner insurance renewal, using information publicly available in some states (usually loan information).
A doctor's office uses publicly-available information to notify a pilot that it's time for he/she to renew their medical certificate.
In all these cases, companies are pitching their wares using public information, knowing full well that a small percentage of the population will choose not to check the details. Exploitive? Maybe...but certainly not illegal. And it can't even remotely be considered slamming.
It even looks like Comodo was very straightforward with you when you requested additional information. I see no attempt by Comodo to obfuscate their purpose.
Re:Why do interviewers use "riddles"?
on
Tech-Interview Riddles
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Those points are true if you're hiring a contractor to come in, do a job, and get out. They are not true if you're hiring a flexible team player who is going to handle a demanding job which is guranteed to throw new challenges on a daily basis.
Please. Do you really think some silly-ass riddles will separate the wheat from the chaff? In a previous life, I was an air traffic controller (9 years). I was thrown new challenges several times an hour. I don't recall riddles being asked on my interview.
I can tell you, however, that the three months of indoctrination in Oklahoma City was a head game unto itself. The point being it took three months to sort the psychologically strong from the weak. I seriously doubt a few puzzles on an hour-long interview is going to tell you much of anything.
Is he using a Keyboard LED or am I missing something really obvious here?
Digging through the source code of a recent kernel, in the file 'linux/drivers/char/pc_keyb.c', above the definition for the function 'panic_blink', one reads the following comment:
Of course, the real problem is that they want to force computer hobbyists, to whom the connection is most useful, to pay big bucks for a "business service."
I would more readily believe this if, in fact, ATT offered business-class service where I live...but, in fact, ATT doesn't (residential service only), and have told me they have no plans to do so. Then again, the area where I live isn't served DSL, either, so maybe ATT knows a good thing when they see it.
Of course, this doesn't stop me from running my own mail and SSH server. But I'd rather not have to do it on the sly...
The author of the linked article states that even with GPL'd source code, the binaries you build would not work because they aren't certified. How, then, would a developer develop anything if they can't run binaries? Or would all binaries run under the same cert on a particular machine? This whole scheme seems to be simply unworkable.
The reason why so much redundant/pointless/dated/superfluous BS in the way of stories is posted here is that the/. editors long ago abandoned the practice of reading the submitted links and checking for duplicate submissions. Instead, they rely on regurgitating the same motifs, over and over, ad nauseum. Like this case mods story. I won't waste my time posting the redundant links. Anybody with a heartbeat and a/. ID under 500000 knows how used-up this topic is.
The comment you linked to talks about installing Gentoo from a "clean" boot. I still maintain that it's extremely difficult to install Gentoo from an existing Linux installation (especially an older installation). Many of the packages simply refuse to compile under gcc-2.7.x and glibc-2.0.x.
I'm wasn't trying to flame Gentoo, nor was I trolling. I was simply pointing out my personal experiences with Gentoo, and providing an alternative to those who might be trying to upgrade an older system. Given that the parent post was modded up to a +5 (I'm long past my karma whoring days), I imagine others have encountered similar difficulties with Gentoo.
An alternative to Gentoo...
on
Gentoo Linux 1.2
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Gentoo's great, if you have a Pentium-or-better machine (for the partially-built distro) and a bootable CD-ROM. Don't even bother if you can't boot from CD, and good luck if you try to do a "live" install from an existing Linux installation. A good alternative is LFS, which accomplishes much of what Gentoo has set out to accomplish but without all of the superfluous extras. More importantly, LFS is meant to be built using an existing (if possibly broken) Linux platform. If building a Linux system from scratch is what you're looking for, LFS certainly delivers.
Other than being an owned bitch now, I don't see anything wrong with accepting a counteroffer. But the question is: Can you sleep at night, knowing that you've whored yourself to the highest bidder?
I'm a bit confused here...two different sources quoted in the/. article seem to indicate that copyright automatically implies licensing. Has there been some change in the copyright law in this regard? A copyright, under US Law, is automatic: The creator of the work is automatically granted the copyright. This post is copyrighted by me, and under the law I'm not required to note that anywhere (although doing so will make it easier for others to recognize the copyrighted nature of my work). According to BSA and MIT, the mere existence of this copyrighted work (my post) automatically implies a license between myself and anyone who chooses to view, cache, or copy this post. How have we allowed the notion of copyright to become so twisted?
I say "I think" because I wasn't even thinking about piracy. I was ruminating about parents who will gladly abrogate their responsibility (as deftly worded by another poster) given government assurances that kids.us is "safe." The responsibility I was referring to was keeping track of where your child is visiting, who your child is chatting with, and what your child is doing. I was thinking more along the lines of a pedophile setting up shop under a kids.us domain, where unsupervised children would be easy prey. Or impersonating a child to gain access to a supposedly "safe" chatroom.
One of the first things I teach my Unix sysadmin students is to get rid of the following alias that seems to be the default in so many Linux distros:
alias rm "rm -i"
Why? Because once they start depending upon this alias to do all the work for them by prompting for every file to be deleted, they'll be in for the surprise of their life when they end up on a machine that doesn't have rm set up to do their thinking for them.
So here we have kids.us -- a supposedly "safe haven" for parents to send their children on the net. Parents can now rest easy, knowing their responsibility towards monitoring their child's behavior has been alleviated by the thoughtfulness of Uncle Sam. Just like the example above, there's no need to keep track of your child on the net so long as they stick with kids.us sites, because the government is one step ahead, protecting their children by ensuring only kid-safe content is found on kids.us websites.
What a farce. The only purpose this new domain serves is to entice parents to let down their guard, making it easier to bombard children with supposedly "kid-safe" content, just like sysadmins who depend upon an aliased version of rm to absolve them of responsibility. We as humans always seem to be looking for someone else to shoulder our responsibilities. When will we begin to learn to take responsibility for our own actions?
Yes but PC Magazine doesn't email you to tell you that your Computer Shopper subscription is almost up and that you should renew to "a magazine" through them.
I dunno about that...my latest renewal notice for Astronomy magazine contained an insert warning of two subscription services who were, in fact, sending out subscription notices to Astronomy subscribers. So it looks like the magazine industry is also starting to become infected with deceptive renewal practices.
What kind of current requirements would be necessary to move heat from one surface to another, one electron at a time? Sounds like one would have to move a good number of them per unit time. For instance, a typical Peltier module (a Melcor CP1.4-71-06L is what I have here) has an internal resistance of about 1.7 ohms. Which means that at 8 volts, you're pumping a little less than 5 amps through for a temperature drop of about 50 deg. C. That's what, P=IE, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 watts in! Energy to move the electrons has to come from somewhere. I'd sure like to see the specs on these babies.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, you gotta dig for them yourself (leave the squeeze behind and save $4.40), but think of the money and sleep you'll save!
I left the IT industry after 10 years (and a layoff) and started teaching. I teach high school and community college classes, and have gone back to school to work on my PhD in educational psychology.
A good friend once told me he evaluated choices in his life by asking, "When I die, would I want this choice on my headstone?" I think having "teacher" on my headstone would be much more satisfying than "cubicle occupant" or "corporate grunt."
Actually, the new section of 190 is to be built well west of there, west of I35E, in fact, right where Valley View and 635 intersect in Irving. The transponder I was talking about is located in a residential/light business area...
Growing up in the NE, we often traversed the Penn. State Turnpike. Back then, they gave you a punch card (Hollerith card for you purists) at the entrance booth, and you handed to the attendant when you exited. If your calculated speed was above a certain limit, you were referred to a Penn. state trooper waiting at the booth for a "consultation."
My father was a cop, so it was never a big deal, professional courtesy and all that...
Here in north Texas, the NTTA is the toll authority. If you drive around town, you can find Amtech transponders mounted high up on telephone poles -- miles away from the tollroads! Not only does NTTA track you on the tollway, they are apparently keeping tabs on you when you're not on the tollway.
For the non-believers in Dallas: Look in the median on Valley View, just west of Marsh in Farmers Branch.
Seems like there's a lot of misconceptions about what the word "amateur" means. Amateur radio is named for its non-commercial nature (amateur as opposed to professional), and has nothing to do with level of competence. There are a great number of amateur radio operators who are experts in their fields of endeavor, and can hardly be considered "amateur" in terms of competence. Here's a list of some of the more famous amateurs. I see a Nobel Prize winner in physics on there, which I'd hardly consider "amateur."
Unfortunately, the best coders don't always make the best managers. I've seen extremely good coders fail to manage efficiently, usually for two reasons: (1) They spend too much time coding, and not enough time managing, or (2) they simply aren't good managers.
The original poster is in a bind, as he's being forced into a position to wear two hats without adequate resources to manage both. My suggestion would be to put the ball back in mgmt's court: Make it clear that you will either play the role of developer, or the role of team lead, but not both (unless adequate resources in time and pay are allocated).
Continuing down this track is simply giving mgmt what it wants: Two job descriptions filled for the price of one. Your performance suffers, while the bean counter who made this ludicrous decision wins, at your expense. You are being used, plain and simple.
Just say no.
- A company uses publicly-available vehicle registration information to pitch extended warranties.
- A tax company uses public appraisal tax rolls to offer their assistance in filing appraisal appeals.
- A company sends a homeowner a form and fee request to file a homestead exemption, again using information from public tax rolls.
- An insurance company sends a "reminder" about homeowner insurance renewal, using information publicly available in some states (usually loan information).
- A doctor's office uses publicly-available information to notify a pilot that it's time for he/she to renew their medical certificate.
In all these cases, companies are pitching their wares using public information, knowing full well that a small percentage of the population will choose not to check the details. Exploitive? Maybe...but certainly not illegal. And it can't even remotely be considered slamming.It even looks like Comodo was very straightforward with you when you requested additional information. I see no attempt by Comodo to obfuscate their purpose.
Those points are true if you're hiring a contractor to come in, do a job, and get out. They are not true if you're hiring a flexible team player who is going to handle a demanding job which is guranteed to throw new challenges on a daily basis.
Please. Do you really think some silly-ass riddles will separate the wheat from the chaff? In a previous life, I was an air traffic controller (9 years). I was thrown new challenges several times an hour. I don't recall riddles being asked on my interview.
I can tell you, however, that the three months of indoctrination in Oklahoma City was a head game unto itself. The point being it took three months to sort the psychologically strong from the weak. I seriously doubt a few puzzles on an hour-long interview is going to tell you much of anything.
Is he using a Keyboard LED or am I missing something really obvious here? I would guess both.
joker@thefarm 126% grep 'winnt\/system32\/cmd.exe' www-error_log | wc -l
10209
Wow...I wonder who the other 1,619 attacks were against? Anybody here willing to own up?
I would more readily believe this if, in fact, ATT offered business-class service where I live...but, in fact, ATT doesn't (residential service only), and have told me they have no plans to do so. Then again, the area where I live isn't served DSL, either, so maybe ATT knows a good thing when they see it.
Of course, this doesn't stop me from running my own mail and SSH server. But I'd rather not have to do it on the sly...
The author of the linked article states that even with GPL'd source code, the binaries you build would not work because they aren't certified. How, then, would a developer develop anything if they can't run binaries? Or would all binaries run under the same cert on a particular machine? This whole scheme seems to be simply unworkable.
The reason why so much redundant/pointless/dated/superfluous BS in the way of stories is posted here is that the /. editors long ago abandoned the practice of reading the submitted links and checking for duplicate submissions. Instead, they rely on regurgitating the same motifs, over and over, ad nauseum. Like this case mods story. I won't waste my time posting the redundant links. Anybody with a heartbeat and a /. ID under 500000 knows how used-up this topic is.
The comment you linked to talks about installing Gentoo from a "clean" boot. I still maintain that it's extremely difficult to install Gentoo from an existing Linux installation (especially an older installation). Many of the packages simply refuse to compile under gcc-2.7.x and glibc-2.0.x.
I'm wasn't trying to flame Gentoo, nor was I trolling. I was simply pointing out my personal experiences with Gentoo, and providing an alternative to those who might be trying to upgrade an older system. Given that the parent post was modded up to a +5 (I'm long past my karma whoring days), I imagine others have encountered similar difficulties with Gentoo.
Gentoo's great, if you have a Pentium-or-better machine (for the partially-built distro) and a bootable CD-ROM. Don't even bother if you can't boot from CD, and good luck if you try to do a "live" install from an existing Linux installation. A good alternative is LFS, which accomplishes much of what Gentoo has set out to accomplish but without all of the superfluous extras. More importantly, LFS is meant to be built using an existing (if possibly broken) Linux platform. If building a Linux system from scratch is what you're looking for, LFS certainly delivers.
Other than being an owned bitch now, I don't see anything wrong with accepting a counteroffer. But the question is: Can you sleep at night, knowing that you've whored yourself to the highest bidder?
"Hugely basic stuff." Anybody have a clue in hell what that means?
I question the wisdom of engaging CA to predict sports injuries when it has a tough time predicting the outcome from doctoring the company books.
I'm a bit confused here...two different sources quoted in the /. article seem to indicate that copyright automatically implies licensing. Has there been some change in the copyright law in this regard? A copyright, under US Law, is automatic: The creator of the work is automatically granted the copyright. This post is copyrighted by me, and under the law I'm not required to note that anywhere (although doing so will make it easier for others to recognize the copyrighted nature of my work). According to BSA and MIT, the mere existence of this copyrighted work (my post) automatically implies a license between myself and anyone who chooses to view, cache, or copy this post. How have we allowed the notion of copyright to become so twisted?
Umm...no (I think).
I say "I think" because I wasn't even thinking about piracy. I was ruminating about parents who will gladly abrogate their responsibility (as deftly worded by another poster) given government assurances that kids.us is "safe." The responsibility I was referring to was keeping track of where your child is visiting, who your child is chatting with, and what your child is doing. I was thinking more along the lines of a pedophile setting up shop under a kids.us domain, where unsupervised children would be easy prey. Or impersonating a child to gain access to a supposedly "safe" chatroom.
One of the first things I teach my Unix sysadmin students is to get rid of the following alias that seems to be the default in so many Linux distros:
alias rm "rm -i"
Why? Because once they start depending upon this alias to do all the work for them by prompting for every file to be deleted, they'll be in for the surprise of their life when they end up on a machine that doesn't have rm set up to do their thinking for them.
So here we have kids.us -- a supposedly "safe haven" for parents to send their children on the net. Parents can now rest easy, knowing their responsibility towards monitoring their child's behavior has been alleviated by the thoughtfulness of Uncle Sam. Just like the example above, there's no need to keep track of your child on the net so long as they stick with kids.us sites, because the government is one step ahead, protecting their children by ensuring only kid-safe content is found on kids.us websites.
What a farce. The only purpose this new domain serves is to entice parents to let down their guard, making it easier to bombard children with supposedly "kid-safe" content, just like sysadmins who depend upon an aliased version of rm to absolve them of responsibility. We as humans always seem to be looking for someone else to shoulder our responsibilities. When will we begin to learn to take responsibility for our own actions?
Yes but PC Magazine doesn't email you to tell you that your Computer Shopper subscription is almost up and that you should renew to "a magazine" through them.
I dunno about that...my latest renewal notice for Astronomy magazine contained an insert warning of two subscription services who were, in fact, sending out subscription notices to Astronomy subscribers. So it looks like the magazine industry is also starting to become infected with deceptive renewal practices.
What kind of current requirements would be necessary to move heat from one surface to another, one electron at a time? Sounds like one would have to move a good number of them per unit time. For instance, a typical Peltier module (a Melcor CP1.4-71-06L is what I have here) has an internal resistance of about 1.7 ohms. Which means that at 8 volts, you're pumping a little less than 5 amps through for a temperature drop of about 50 deg. C. That's what, P=IE, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 watts in! Energy to move the electrons has to come from somewhere. I'd sure like to see the specs on these babies.